Air
by ttfan111robstar1
Summary: He loved her more than air. AU.


He saw her, coming down the escalator. His heart stopped in his chest, skipping two beats, before beginning to race again. A flash of heat, as warming as the sun, went through him.

"Light!"

Her voice broke through to him, and the cobwebs that had formed in his brain from the time she'd been away were swept away. For a brief moment, he wondered if she was real. If she wasn't, he wanted to memorize every contour of her face. Her sun-kissed hair, her skin pale as the moon, slate-gray eyes, and lips red as the rose petals that colored her cheeks. When she got a bit closer, He could smell her unique scent, and realized that she was real- that _they _were real.

And then, suddenly her lips were crushing his. He nearly fell over with the force of her kiss, and yet wanted to melt into it. He wanted to say something to her but she was sucking up all his air.

The world seemed to fall away from them. Time seemed meaningless. They were wrapped in one another's arms, pressing to one another as though nobody else existed.

They probably looked so strange, entangled in one another's arms that way at the bottom of the escalator close to baggage claim, but they simply didn't care.

When their lips finally broke apart, Light took in a gulp of air, before smiling brightly at her. Her eyes gleamed with joy.

"I missed you so much, Light!"

Light smiled at her. "How was the shoot?"

"Great! It was so strange to go to the US for a photo shoot, but I guess I'm really getting popular there!"

"Good." Light smiled, wrapping his arm around her. She leaned into him automatically, and they walked to the baggage carousel.

"Did you miss me?" She smiled.

"Of course." He said, squeezing her as the luggage began to dispense from the carousel. Her black rolling bag was the first one out, and Light swept it easily from the carousel and set it beside Misa, before the black duffel bag came, and he slung it over his shoulder.

Heads turned as they passed, but they were used to it. Misa, with her modeling career taking off, with Light, who looked to possibly be a model himself. A couple straight from the movies. Anybody who passed them would have thought that. But it didn't start out that way.

He thought about how he'd let her get under his skin. He hadn't planned for it- but it had happened. He'd been perfunctory in doling out affection to her. Affection was a reward for doing what he wanted, or incentive for obeying him. It wasn't supposed to have gone any deeper than having feelings at a surface level. But while he was busy trying to change the world, she was busy changing him. Suddenly he began to enjoy her hugs, her kisses, her showering him with adoration. He tried to pinpoint the moment when that change occurred in him, and came up with when L had asked her to be bait for the Yotsuba group. A kind of protective instinct toward her had awakened in him that day, and it had yet to be quelled.

In his quest for power, he'd become entangled in a single-minded purpose to rid the world of evil. He'd envisioned himself the god of that new world, where everyone would be judged according to his values, and he would rule with an iron fist. Now, however, he saw the truth. What good was ruling the world without someone to share it with? But he did have someone. Someone who had loved him before they had even met, or heard one another's names. A kind of love he hadn't seen with his own parents even, so foreign he couldn't recognize it. It was something so pure and untouched that he hadn't ever seen it.

They walked through the airport, glamorous. Her as the supermodel with celebrity status, he as the mysterious, good-looking straight-A student. They were used to jaws dropping at them, looking like a pair of celebrities in love, but for all the love they had for one another, it was like nobody else was in the airport.

They fell into step with one another, walking beside each other as they so often did. His arm wrapped protectively around her. He thought about the first time he'd done that in earnest. He remembered it so vividly, Lightning Flashes in a black night. He'd been living in an apartment with her about a month. He'd been busy scrawling names of those slated to die in the Death Note for an hour or so, an infinitesimal space of time where only a blip of time in his life. He'd only been at it shortly, before the sounds of quiet sobbing interrupted his concentration. It abated as quickly as it had come, and he'd returned to his work, only for it to come again. He'd sighed and set his pen down, before getting up and moving toward their shared bedroom; there hadn't been a need for separate bedrooms at that point.

He looked back now on his walk there with deep shame. His arrogance, his holier-than-thou attitude, his superior self had intended to go there to tell her to quiet down because he couldn't concentrate. He'd gone in to see her crying, mascara making black tracks down her face. It hit him that something had to be terribly wrong- she always kept her make up picture perfect. He started thinking about what it could be before he noticed the calendar. It was the fourteenth, and this cleared up much of his confusion. It was the anniversary of the day her parents were killed.

In a very rare moment of clarity, he'd wondered how many nights she'd spent crying over them by herself. He didn't realize until that moment just why her devotion to Kira- to _him- _ran so deep. Now he saw the truth. She'd felt like someone had held her hand in that darkness as she grieved them. He'd never once understood her zealous devotion to him, had only cared about the advantage it could bring him. Now he was seeing the driving force behind it, and it twisted something deep inside.

He'd stood there a moment or two, uncertain of whether to let her grieve alone or to go hold her, before he realized the obvious answer. He went to where she lay and put his arms around her waist. He realized the moment she registered his presence by the split second of freezing her body did, in both sobs and motion, before she sank into him. He felt her weight in his arms, and it was oddly comforting to have her in them. He suddenly recognized just how deep his need to keep her safe ran.

"Don't cry." He'd told her. "They wouldn't want you to cry for them."

She'd sniffled delicately. "I know. I just miss them so much."

"I know." He'd pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"That's not the whole reason I'm crying."

"Then what is it?"

She'd looked at him, eyes shining and glimmering with her unshed tears. "Because I'm not alone anymore."

"No. You aren't. And you won't be ever again."

He'd made that promise and kept it, even after all this time, after all they'd been through. The death of L, the death of Near, through everything. The new world of his was still in the works, Kira still killing, but he'd found something more important on the journey the Death Note had taken him on. He was so much more _aware _of things now than he had been previously, because they hadn't seemed important then. But now he could appreciate them. The scent of her perfume, the feelings of fingers intertwined with one another, the feeling of a kiss.

They said a good woman could change a man, and she'd done that so completely to him. Instead of him wanting to take the world by storm, he now wanted to lay the world at her feet. Their roles had shifted, and suddenly instead of her constantly keeping his happiness at the forefront of her mind, he was doing it for her. He couldn't remember the point in which he'd began to treasure her hugs, her kiss, her scent, but it was there clear as day. Now he couldn't imagine going without them.

Falling in love was everything he'd never dreamed it to be. It was a joyous thing, full of unexpected surprises, and lots of interesting tidbits about the other person. Every day felt like a present because he was learning something new. When they'd gotten their apartment, he'd surprised her by putting a vase of her favorite flowers on the dining room table just to see her reaction, and was rewarded by her eyes lighting up at his thoughtfulness. He was wrapped around her finger.

He couldn't stand to be away from her for too long. She was like a drug he needed more of all the time, and could only go so long without. His mind would wander to silly things when she was not around, like how me missed the scent of her hair or the sound of her laugh or the way she entered or exited the room in a swish of silk. For a while he honestly thought he was losing his mind when he started thinking those things, because what did any of that have to do with world crime rates? But when he understood that he loved her, he didn't fear those thoughts half as much. He could only stomach being without her for a week maximum, or else he thought he'd explode. He hated when she did shoots like these for that reason. But considering it paid the rent for their apartment, he kept his mouth shut.

Now, holding her in his arms again, he was intensely relieved. This shoot had kept her away for five days and he'd been going crazy without her around. However, he was happy to say he'd written enough names in the death note to make up for a week of activity, all with complex circumstances, in order to spend some quality time with her.

What a strange creature he'd become.

"How was your flight?" He asked, picking up her black bag from the carousel when they arrived and slinging it over his shoulder before grabbing the rolling bag and getting it set so she could take it.

"It was good. They have these little pods you fly in for first class now, did you know?"

He smiled. "No, I didn't. Sounds interesting."

"It was! But I'm famished. The plane didn't have any exceptionally good food."

"I think dinner can be arranged." He smiled.

They walked from the carousel to the parking lot and hailed a cab home. All the way Misa filled the cab with her excitable chatter about what the US was like, how she liked it, how interesting the food was. He leaned back, nodding occasionally but not really taking in her words as much as he was enjoying the sound of her voice and having her home. They got to the apartment in record time, and he paid and tipped the driver before he took out their bags. Then, he led Misa inside.

Their apartment wasn't much. A kitchen, across from the dining room, a living room in front of that. A small hallway connected a bathroom and of course their bedroom. The kitchen was mainly just a stove, sink, and sliver of counter that housed a few cabinets. The dining room was more reflective of Misa's tastes. A large oak wood table, six plushly stuffed chairs (what they would need those for Light would never know, since the only guests they ever had over were his parents and occasionally his sister), a vase of flowers, and a light fixture. The living room held a couch, coffee table, tv, and remote. The bathroom just had a sink, toilet, and shower, but their bedroom was rather interesting.

There was a desk along the same wall that held their closet and dresser, which housed their death notes. Along the wall by their bed was a veritable library of books. The wall opposite that held Misa's vanity, always overflowing with her makeup. The bed was in the middle of the room, firm mattress, soft and sumptuous sheets and comforter. It was a strange, eclectic collection of both of their personalities that clashed together and yet were harmonious all the same.

Today their bed was dusted with rose petals that trailed to the bathroom, with candles on the edge of the bathtub. Their tablecloth had been replaced with a crisp white one, adorned with two candles and silver serving platters sat atop of it, borrowed from his parents. Tonight he'd planned a romantic evening for both of them. He had missed her this week, and wanted to make sure she knew it.

When he led her inside, he made sure to get a look at her face. He was not disappointed. He watched her features go from confusion to surprise to absolute joy in quick succession. She turned to him, grinning madly, and wrapped her arms around his neck as she pressed her lips to his in a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her close. She felt so strong and yet so vulnerable in moments like these. She knew how much he loved her now, but it wasn't always this way. When she thought about all the mistakes she'd made that nearly made these moments impossible, it almost made her angry enough to hate herself.

She separated from him, squealing softly. "Light, this is so romantic! I can't believe you did all this for me!"

He smiled. "Well, I did. Sit down. Dinner shouldn't get cold." He said.

She smiled happily and sat down. "You're such a sweetheart!"

He lifted the lid and showed a plate of donbouri to her on white rice. She smiled at that, clapping her hands.

He took his seat next to her, leaving the bags by the door. "I wanted you to know I missed you." He said softly.

She smiled. "I always know you miss me, silly. Every time you come home."

"Sometimes I feel like I forget to tell you."

"You always tell me, Light. Just by being with me." She said, taking a bite.

A little bit after, Light spoke. "What do you say we head to the bathroom for a bath? I have a few surprises for you there too."

"I'd like that." She smiled, setting down her chopsticks.

He swept her off her feet without ceremony, and she laughed softly. Then, his lips were pressing against hers, strong but soft. They would both remember the words he said after for years to come.

"Never forget, Misa. I love you more than air."


End file.
